


Warmth

by Headphone_Love



Series: Fictober19 [3]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir Needs a Hug, Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng Fluff, Cute Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Hurt Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Hurt Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Late Night Conversations, Loneliness, Marichat | Adrien Agreste as Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Marinette Dupain-Cheng Needs a Hug, Secret Identity, Short One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-27
Updated: 2019-10-27
Packaged: 2021-01-04 07:23:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21193844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Headphone_Love/pseuds/Headphone_Love
Summary: Adrien had been facing the cold for as long as he could remember.Until one night when he doesn't have to.





	Warmth

**Author's Note:**

> For Fictober 19! 
> 
> Day 26- "You keep me warm" 
> 
> Adrien needs some comfort and so does Marinette.  
Good thing Chat and Adrien are the same person, amirite?
> 
> One shot-standalone- drabble coming at ya!

Adrien enjoyed living as Chat Noir. 

He got to go out whenever he wanted, so long as he played his cards right, and was no longer confined to the bedroom his father had kept him in for years. Sure, his bedroom wasn’t a boring place in the slightest, but items were…cold. They couldn’t hold a conversation or tell him how he looked or what they wanted to do. 

They were basically the material form of ‘yes men’ which is probably why his father thought he would like them. 

Now, even with this newfound freedom, Adrien never abused the ability or ran Plagg into the ground with his adventures. He only used it when he felt suffocated or alone, and well, that happened more often than Adrien would like to admit. 

“Father isn’t coming again?” Adrien asked, Nathalie frowning and sighing. 

“He sends his regards and promises to eat with you tomorrow morning.”

His heart squeezed uncomfortably, Adrien knowing very well what that emotion was but dismissing it as he smiled and nodded. “Sounds great, but I have Chinese lessons tomorrow morning since it’s the weekend. Maybe some other time.”

Nathalie nodded and excused herself, shutting the door quietly behind her. Adrien’s smile slowly slipped, replaced with something much more tired and heavy. 

“Hey, cheer up, kid. At least you got me!” Plagg tried to assure, nuzzling Adrien’s cheek. The teen appreciated the gesture, especially since Plagg often hated acts of affection. Raising a hand to let him know he was feeling a bit better at the words—and he truly was—Adrien looked towards his window and figured that escaping wouldn’t matter now. It was late considering how long he’d waited for his father, but the time had never stopped him from leaving into the night before. 

“Plagg…?”

The kwami raised a brow. “Are you gonna be safe? Where are you planning to go at this time?” 

People would probably find these questions annoying and naggy, but Adrien’s heart swelled at the fact that someone cared enough to even ask. No one ever looked at him or what he did when he was free. They only saw Adrien the model or Adrie the weird boy kept a secret by his father. The irony of being a well-known model was not lost on him considering that his father seemed so fearful of the outside world. 

“Well, there’s only one place I think I could go that won’t involve me being put on Alya’s blog,” Adrien said logically. “Nino would no doubt spill to her so they’re both out. Chloe isn’t exactly fond of Chat like she is Adrien…”

“So Marinette’s,” Plagg said as Adrien offered a sheepish smile. 

“To Marinette’s.”

* * *

Marinette’s light wasn’t on. 

He nearly debated turning back until his ears twitched at the sound coming from inside the building. He decided to get a closer look, peeking through the window and seeing that Marinette was far from asleep. She was at her desk, curled into her chair with her head down. Instantly concerned since this wasn’t the Marinette he was used to seeing, he raised a hand and knocked gently on the window. 

Marinette didn’t jump, slowly raising her head and meeting his eyes. He swore she perked up once she caught wind of it being him, but then again, it was wishful thinking. She was probably more shocked at his sudden appearance than grateful.

“Chat? What are you…?” 

“Just paying my princess a nightly visit,” Adrien said with a wink, though when she didn’t smile, the confidence faded. It sunk even lower when tears began to form in her eyes, Adrien immediately taking this as a sign to come in and placing both his hands on her shoulders. “Woah, Woah! Did something happen? Are you hurt?” 

Marinette laughed, sniffing and rubbing her eyes as she shook her head. “No, no...I’m just…happy to see a familiar face, I guess. Don’t mind me.”

Swallowing hard, Adrien shook his head. “With all due respect, you wouldn’t be crying for no reason. So…I’m all ears if you want to tell me the truth.”

Breathing in, Marinette simply moved forward and hugged him tightly, only relaxing once he returned the gesture. 

“I just feel like everything is too quiet tonight, is all. That’s all, kitty.”

Adrien frowned, the words hitting a chord. “Oh, princess. That’s definitely not ‘nothing’. That’s…” he hesitated. He didn’t want to tell her how she was feeling, sure that she knew very well what it was. But how she’d gotten to the point of hating mere silence was all too familiar. “It sounds like loneliness.”

Marinette pulled away, eyes to the floor. “Why would I ever be lonely? I have friends and family and…” she paused. “You’re here, so I guess I have you too.”

Feeling a bit shocked at the declaration and knowing she meant it in a friendly way didn’t stop how his heart was pounding as if he’d just run a marathon. It felt nice to feel needed  _ and  _ wanted rather than just the former. That didn’t stop Adrien from wondering how someone like Marinette had gotten to a point where despite those around her, she felt like she was alone. 

“Yeah, I’ll always be here. It’d be pretty  _ pawful _ of me to leave a damsel all alone,” Adrien joked, Marinette breaking into a sincere smile for the first time since his arrival. It fell, though not out of sadness this time, but from thought. 

“Chat…do you ever feel like you’re hiding who you really are from the people around you?” 

Blinking, he pointed to his mask and grinned sheepishly. “That’s…kinda my job, don’t you think?” 

Rolling her eyes, Marinette gently flicked him on the nose to get him to focus. “Nevermind, it’s stupid—” she said before turning as Adrien quickly ran around her so he was back in front of her. He held his hands out, smiling and trying to hold back the remaining laughter. 

“I was kidding! I’m sorry, I’ll listen for real this time. So…shoot.”

Despite her skepticism, Marinette let out a soft breath and raised a hand to her heart. “There are lies I tell people,” she admitted, making Adrien tense. “Not like Lila level lies,” she clarified, seeming concerned of how he saw her. “But just little white ones that have been weighing on me lately.”

Adrien crossed his arms, leaning on his left leg as he stared at the ceiling to process what he’d been told. “So…why not just tell the truth? It sets you free from what I’ve heard.”

Marinette chuckled, though this time there was an underlying sadness that even he could hear. “The truth isn’t my choice to tell,” she confessed. “And sometimes I feel awful for it because people like Alya and Nino expect me to be available but then I have to bail and there isn’t any good reason outside of the truth so it makes me sound like a flake and I just feel like an awful person.”

He understood that considering how his father was. Sometimes there was no way out of lying or scheming to avoid awkward situations. 

“Well, you aren’t lying to hurt anyone right?” 

“No! The opposite!” Marinette insisted as Adrien raised a hand to place on her shoulder. She relaxed under his touch and he hid the way it made him giddy: a friend that trusted him so much that she calmed down instead of slapping his hand away. 

“Well, think of Ladybug and me. We can’t reveal our secrets, even to the ones we care about and love,” Adrien pointed out. “So sometimes we have to lie right to people’s faces but not because we want to…because it’s for their safety and comfort.” 

Nodding her head, Marinette sighed. “That makes sense.”

“Of course it does. But what matters is that once the truth is out, whenever that time is, it’ll all come to light. It might be tough now and it might feel like no one sees who you are, but those who look hard enough will see who you are. Trust me.”

“See…who I am?” Marinette said hesitantly, eyeing him with a bit of concern. 

“Unless you don’t want me to?” Adrien added as she swallowed. 

“You have no idea, kitty,” Marinette sighed but shook her head. “Maybe someday soon,” she promised as Adrien grinned. 

“I’ll look forward to that. Now,” Adrien started, looking around the room. He walked over to her fallen blanket and shook it out before moving toward her and wrapping it around her shoulders. After assuring it was draped around her, he met her eyes and for some reason felt himself freeze. Whenever he was Adrien, she never really looked directly at him. It was probably the reason why seeing her—or rather, actually  _ looking _ at her—had him feeling like he was out of breath.

“Aren’t you tired or expected at...you know...your home?” Marinette asked partially as a joke to lighten the sudden shift in mood. Her face fell as her expression softened. “Oh, kitty…did you come here because of something that happened? And yet you’re totally trying to comfort me!”

“Don’t,” Adrien insisted, unsure of whether he’d reacted to her words to let her know she was right or if his ears had betrayed him by flopping down to show his sadness. “Even though my home isn’t really home right now, feeling needed felt like a nice change of pace. I could talk to you for hours if you needed me to.”

Frowning, Marinette grabbed one of his hands and pulled him along so they were sitting down on her couch. “Well, just know you’re welcome here not as an ear, but as a friend,” she pointed out. “I appreciate you listening to me and letting me get out all that negativity. But…I want to do the same for you. So…would you like to talk about it?” 

If he were being honest, he did—more than anything. 

But he couldn’t. 

Because he had talked to her as Adrien far too many times for her to not piece together the similarities in their stories. He guessed this was what she’d meant earlier about the lying, and felt a bit of a pang in his chest at the fact. 

“Maybe another time. Right now, I just want to pretend all is well in the world and do anything but talk about it.”

Marinette perked. “Well, I’m far from tired and you came here for a reason…how about a movie night?” 

“Movie night?” Adrien asked. “I’ve never had one of those before,” he admitted which drew a gasp from Marinette. She moved so she was sitting on her knees, leaning in closer as he backed away out of reflex.

“Never?! We’re having one with snacks, and I’ll turn on the color lights and  _ you _ can pick since you’ve never done this before so it's a movie you like and oh I could bake some warm food if you’d like—”

Adrien listened as she rambled, not even realizing how his lips had begun to form a smile. The longer she talked about all the things she wanted to prepare, the bigger it became. He had never had someone go through so much for him because they wanted to. Usually, people did things because of his father’s orders or because they wanted something from him. 

But Marinette didn’t know about any of that. Marinette was just…

Sucking in a deep breath, his pupils dilating at the discovery. 

“Chat? Did I overwhelm you? I’m sorry I get overly excited about things like this! We don't have to do anything if you don't want to.” 

She reached out to place a hand on his cheek and wipe his tears away. Her thumb swiped across and the look of pure panic on her face had him choking on a laugh. She paused at the action and Adrien leaned forward to press his forehead to her own affectionately. He shut his eyes, hearing her call his name again but only humming in response. 

“Don’t worry about me, princess,” Adrien assured, raising a gloved hand to place it over her own.

"Are you sure...?"

"Positive," Adrien promised with a shaky chuckle. “I’m just so happy to have met you, that's all.” 


End file.
